The Sculpture Resource Center is presenting an art show at Thunder Canyon Brewery in Downtown Tucson. The theme is Nostalgia. The reception is scheduled for Saturday, August 13. For this show artists were invited to create something that had a longing for times past. I had a hard time brainstorming for a concept that would fit this theme. I wanted to find something personal that would reflect nostalgia for me.

I felt nostalgic for my childhood in the 60s. I watched a lot of television back then. I could tell what time it was based on what was on TV. Much of what I liked were movies, of all kinds. I especially loved horror, science fiction and fantasy, which are still my favorite genres in many media. I was fascinated by many actresses of those times. Even at the young age of 10, I could see it was a male-dominated world, so I noticed women who stood out in movies, especially in the genres I mentioned. For this show I thought of making art depicting women that I really felt were powerful in roles that attracted my attention. I created two pieces for this show, and I may continue with this series with other actresses.

This piece I call Ubiquitous Raquel, and it’s a tribute to Raquel Welch in the film, One Million Years B.C. This movie was released in 1966 and it propelled her to international stardom. It was a remake of a 1940s movie, One Million B.C. with Carole Lombard and Victor Mature. It depicted humans existing with dinosaurs and a number of other large creatures (Historical accuracy for some people). Ray Harryhausen did the animation for the dinosaurs. The poster of her in her fur bikini was everywhere when I was an adolescent. I created this homage from a few images I found online. I wanted a different image than what was used in the poster, but still wanted to display her famous outfit.

Ubiquitous Raquel. Oil on canvas. 30 x 40 inches. 2016

Barbara Steele is a British actress who appeared in a number of Italian movies in the 60s. She appeared in an iconic dance scene in Fellini’s 8 1/2, which Quentin Tarantino paid homage to in Pulp Fiction. She made a number of TV appearances, as well. But for me, and many others, her best roles were in the horror films. Her dark hair and pale complexion was perfect for the black and white movies which featured eerie lighting to accent the gloomy mood many of these movies depicted. I created this piece in gray tones as a tribute to her haunting beauty and titled it Dark Beautiful Steele.

Dark Beautiful Steele. Oil on canvas. 18×24 inches. 2016.

The vignettes to the right of her image, symbolize scenes from three of her movies. The top symbol is from a movie known as Black Sunday to American audiences. It’s called La Maschera del Demonio (Mask of the Demon) in Italian.  The middle image symbolizes Castle of Blood or Danza Macabra. Finally, the bottom symbol shows the the blade from The Pit and the Pendulum, a Roger Corman movie in which Steele appeared with Vincent Price.